Diaper Duty
by Nasalesme Dreadwolf
Summary: After a car crash that leaves a dead marine a baby is left behind with noone to go to. The CPS cannot do anything at the moment. This leaves the baby in the care of NCIS. Who is the unfortunate agent who will be held responsible. R
1. 1 Baby on Board

**Chapter 1 Baby on Board**

At the NCIS building everyone was at his or her desk looking at files. Either on the computer or on paper. McGee was typing away while Gibbs shifted through papers. Ziva was on the phone while typing and Tony was looking through paper files as well. They knew at any moment they would have to leave to solve some kind of case. The question was when was it ever going to come. As everyone sat there doing their own thing Gibbs' phone rings. The three agents shifted their eyes for only a moment to watch him pick the phone up. As Gibbs talked on the phone the others were getting ready for him to give an order. After he hung up it was like they predicted.

"Get your gear and come with me." Gibbs said as they hustled to grab their things.

"Where are we going?" Ziva asked as she caught up to Gibbs.

"We're going to a crash site." Gibbs answered as the rest of the team got on the elevator.

"What kind of crash site?" Tony asked as he put his bag on his shoulder.

"It seems that a marine lost control of his car and smashed into a tree." Gibbs said only giving a little bit.

"Do you think the marine could have been pushed off the road by another vehicle?" McGee asked shifting his body a little.

"Well we'll find out when we get there." Gibbs said as the elevator stopped and all of them filed out one by one.

**XoX**

Arriving on the scene they saw that the vehicle was a red 2009 Subaru Forester. The front end of the Subaru had smashed into the tree. Nonetheless, the front end was totaled. The windshield was shattered. There was also a large mark on the right side of the car. The mark had what looked to be yellow paint on it. As they walked up to the police Ziva looked at the back of the vehicle and noticed a sign on it.

"The dead marine is in the vehicle." The police officer said as he pointed toward the red Subaru.

"Where's the baby?" Ziva asked as she looked over the car.

"How did you know about the baby?" The officer asked a little confused since it had not come up yet.

"The sticker." Was all Ziva said as she pointed to the 'Baby on Board' sticker.

Nodding the officer went to say, "The dead man over there is Gunnery Sergeant Aaron Matthew. The child's name is Tabitha Matthew." The officer then handed over everything to Gibbs.

"Where's the baby?" Gibbs asked as he looked through what the officer had given him. His team was already scoping out the scene.

"The baby is in my patrol car. I am waiting for someone from the CPS to call me back." The officer answered as he pointed to his patrol car.

"How did you find this wreck?" Gibbs asked making the officer feel like he was being interrogated.

"A phone call from a man. He did not tell me anything about himself just that there was a wreck and where the wreck was located." The officer said getting a little uncomfortable.

"Did you at least get a number?" Gibbs asked looking up at the officer.

"Yeah but when they traced it they said it was a pay phone. The number is included in the report." The officer was about to say more but his cell phone rang. Holding up his finger he then answered it. After a few moments the officer hung up the phone with a slight curse. "Damn they say they're too busy at the moment. I am going to have to turn her over to you. At least that is what they told me."

The officer then went to the car and opened the door. He then picked the toddler up only making her cry. As the officer carried the child to Gibbs, she cried and pulled at the officer's hair and nose. The child's hair was a strawberry blond that reached to her shoulders. Her dress was blue with little pink flowers all over it. She had on a pair of black dress shoes with white stockings. The girls green eyes were filled with tears that streamed down her face. The child looked no older then two at the least.

"Here you go." The officer said handing the screaming toddler to Gibbs. "See ya." The officer then went to his patrol car and took off.

Gibbs then looked the child over but there did not seem to be any harm done to her at all. He then tried to calm her down but it all ended in failure. The child only screamed and wiggled in his arms. That's when the other three agents then went up to Gibbs and the screaming child.

"Ziva take her." Gibbs said unable to handle the crying anymore. "Try and make her stop."

Ziva then took the child and started to rock her. "It will be okay Tabitha." Ziva said as she rocked her back and forth. However, the baby only cried and pulled Ziva's hair. One of Tabitha's hands was curled in Ziva's hair pulling and the other was pulling her shirt. At this point she was crying so hard buggers started to ooze out of her tiny nose. "I don't think she likes me." Ziva said as she tried to free her hair from the baby's grasp.

"Then give it to DiNozzo." Gibbs commanded. He was willing to try anything to make the tiny child stop crying.

Ziva then handed her to Tony. Right when she was in his hands she started to quiet down. As he watched, the child Tabitha wiped her eyes. She then wrapped her arms around his neck and laid her head on his shoulder.

"Look at that she likes you." McGee said making Tony look at him. "I guess what they say is true. You are a babe magnet."

This only made Ziva giggle. Tony glared at both of them. As they looked at the body it became clear why the baby seemed to be calm around Tony.

That was when Ducky and Palmer showed up. Getting out of the vehicle both of them headed over to the Subaru. Right when they got to the driver's side it was then that Ducky saw Tony with a small child in his arms. Now this was new. He never took Tony as being good with children.

"Wow Tony I did not think you were good with children." Palmer said as Ducky looked at the dead man.

"Shut up, Palmer." Tony said moving away from the Subaru saw Tabitha did not see the dead body.

Ducky then moved the body back into the seat to get a good look. There was a huge laceration on the man forehead. The blood had already dried. Looking further there seemed to be more blood on the man's shirt. Looking closer Ducky saw that the man had been shot twice.

"Oh my, Jethro come look at this. I think I found the reason why the child is so calm in Tony's arms." Ducky said making Gibbs walk over to him.

"Tony I found out the reason why she likes you." Gibbs said as he took in the man's facial features.

Walking over to the driver's side Tony leaned in but also made sure that Tabby did not get a view of the dead body. The dead marine looked almost like him. They both had the same color hair and eyes. Their jaw structure was almost the same as well. The dead man before them could almost pass as being Tony's identical twin.


	2. 2 Not so Bad

**Chapter 2 Not so Bad**

The team was now back at the NCIS building working on their own thing. Ziva was in charge of finding why the CPS was not taking charge of the infant. McGee was finding the infants other relatives if she had any. Tony was at his desk with the infant in his lap since it seemed that she did not want to go to anyone else. Gibbs was with the director. Tony had no idea what he was supposed to do about the infant in his lap. Right now, she was taking a nap on his lap. However, he knew that it was not going to last.

"Well that was useless." Ziva said hanging the phone up.

"What's useless?" Gibbs said as he went to his desk.

"The Child Protection Service said they cannot help for they are busy at the moment. It will be more then twenty-four hours before they can do anything to help." Ziva answered getting on her computer.

"It seems that Tabitha has no family. Mother died soon after giving birth. The grandparents on both sides died over three years ago so she never met them." McGee said as he typed away at his computer.

"If he was a marine then how was he able to take care of a child?" Ziva asked turning to look at McGee.

"It seems that he was honorably discharged a year before she was born. He got a severe case of pneumonia and a broken leg." McGee said still typing away on his computer.

"DiNozzo," Gibbs said getting his attention.

"Yes boss." Tony answered.

"This means you have diaper duty. Since you will be having her over twenty-four hours you should go buy her some things." Gibbs said making Tony confused.

"I don't know what to buy." Tony said looking around for some support.

"Start with some diapers. Does she have a diaper on?" Ziva said making Tony look.

"Yes she is." Tony answered.

"So take her to the store and buy her what she needs." Gibbs said a little irritated.

"Yes boss." Tony then got up making sure not to drop Tabitha. He then grabbed some of his things and started to walk away; however, he stopped and turned to Ziva. "Hey you're a woman do you wanna help me?"

"No Tony I am busy." Ziva said picking her phone back up.

"Fine," Tony then left.

**XoX**

After an hour and a half, Tony made it to the super market. First, he had to figure out how to put Tabitha's car seat in his own car, which took him about an hour to do. He then had to make sure he had enough money even though he had no clue what it was going to cost him. So he went to the super market not knowing how much it was going to cost or what he really needed. He then grabbed a cart and placed Tabitha in it. Walking up to the market, he looked down at the infant.

"You know Tabitha is a big name for such a small child." Tony said making her giggle. "Okay let's come up with a nick name then. Well Tabby is short for Tabitha and you are short. You know Tabby almost sounds like Abby." Tony then started to repeat Tabby and Abby repeatedly making Tabitha giggle.

Walking into the super market Tony looked around wondering where he was supposed to go. Well at least there were signs that he could follow. Eventually he made his way to the infants department, which had so much stuff he had no idea where to start. Thinking about it for a moment, he decided to start with the diapers. Walking up to the diaper wall he then noticed that he really had no idea what he needed. The diaper wall had so many brands and sizes Tony only could stare at the wall dumbfounded.

"Oh my god they come in different sizes." Tony said as he gaped at the diaper wall.

As Tony looked at the wall in amazement, someone saw that he was in need of help. That person then walked up to the cart to look at Tabitha. The person then started to coo at Tabitha making her giggle. Tony was so out of it he had no idea that there was someone beside him looking at Tabitha.

"She is so cute." The person said making Tony turn to see a woman standing there. "What's her name?"

"Here name is Tabitha." Tony said, as he looked her up and down. "My name is Anthony DiNozzo and you are."

"Well Tony my name is Kayla and it looks like you need some help." Kayla then went to the wall and picked up one of the big boxes. "This is the one you need."

Kayla then handed the box over to Tony and walked away. Tony smiled as he put the box in the cart. He was about to push the cart when Kayla came back. She then went back to the diaper wall and picked something else up. Kayla then handed to him.

"You will need those to and this." Kayla said handing him the baby wipes and a piece of paper.

As Kayla walked away, Tony opened the piece of paper to see her full name and also her number. Smiling to himself, he put the piece of paper in his pocket. Putting the wipes into the cart, he then started to push the cart. As he walked around more women stopped and helped him. And after every single woman helped him, they would give him a piece of paper with their name and number on it. Tony then started to see the benefits of having an infant with him. He had gotten more numbers in an hour then he has in a whole month. Tabitha was like a miracle on two legs.

"You know having you around is not so bad at all." Tony said as he went to pay for his items.


	3. 3 Accidental Kiss

Yeah update. Sorry about the wait I had a writers block so sorry. I hope you like this chapter. And if you have any advice or suggestions I would love to hear it.

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Chapter 3 Accidental Kiss**

After arranging, some of the items in the diaper bag Tony then put some juice in a sippy cup and handed it to Tabitha. She took the cup from Tony and started to drink it. As Tabitha drank her juice, Tony was deciding on whether or not to go back to the NCIS building. While he thought about returning or not a thought popped into his head. His mind made up Tony started the car and headed toward the NCIS building. He had nothing better to do and he wanted to rub a certain something into a certain someone's face.

"I cannot wait to see his reaction." Tony said glancing back at Tabitha. "I know you're going to love seeing me rub it in his face. I wonder why your dad didn't remarry. With all the numbers that I got in one hour with you he must have had at least ten times that."

On the way back to the NCIS building all he could think about was how he was going to shove his great luck upon a certain someone. He could not wait to what kind of face that certain someone would make when he saw how many numbers he got. With all the numbers he got he could easily make a mini phone book out of them. As Tony parked his car, he then grabbed all of the numbers and then placed them in one of the side pockets of the diaper bag. He then unbuckled his seatbelt and with diaper bag in hand, he left the car. Tony then put the strap of the diaper over his head to lie upon his shoulder. After that, he then unstrapped Tabitha and headed toward the building.

As Tony entered the room, three pair of eyes went in his direction. Not even paying attention to the people looking at him, he walked up to his desk and sat down. He then placed the diaper bag on the desk and settled Tabitha on his lap. Tabitha then bounced on Tony's knee as he reached into the bag and pulled out a sippy cup and a bottle of apple juice. He then filled the sippy cup half way and then put the lid back on. After handing the cup over to Tabitha, he then reached into one of the side pockets and pulled out several pieces of paper. Tony then placed the bag on the floor and then placed the numbers one by one in front of him. After the numbers were placed on his desk, he then settled back and got ready to see, what kind of face the others would make.

"Okay Tabby down to business. Now which number should I try first?" Tony said making at least two of the three heads look in his direction. "I know there is a lot but just calm down and just look at all of them."

Tabitha then looked at the pieces of paper in front of her not knowing what was going on. Tony watched as Tabitha looked at the pieces of paper before them. He really did not care if she picked one or not. He just wanted to get a reaction out of two certain people. As he started to point at numbers, he described to Tabitha what each woman looked like. As he did so, two people walked up to his desk to see what he was doing.

"What are these?" Ziva asked as she picked up one of the pieces of paper up.

"These," Tony waved his hands over the pieces of paper, "are numbers of hot women I got while I was shopping for little Tabby here. I can tell you this little girl here is a miracle on two legs." Tony then hugged Tabitha making her giggle.

"So what you are saying is that you used Tabitha to get women?" Ziva asked as she put the piece of paper down.

"Of course not. How was I supposed to know that a single guy like me would attract so many women just by taking a cute little girl to the store?" Tony said trying to look innocent.

"Yeah a single guy with a child would do that." McGee said, as he looked at all the numbers. "How long did it take to get all those numbers?"

"An hour." Tony said making McGee's mouth almost fall open.

"McGee, Ziva get back to work." Gibbs commanded.

"Yes boss." Ziva and McGee said as they headed back to their own desk.

"DiNozzo go home and if we need you I will call you." Gibbs commanded making Tony gather the numbers and put them back in the diaper bag.

"Yes boss." Tony said as he gathered his things and left.

**XoX**

Tony was sitting on his couch watching Tabitha. She was sitting on the floor with coloring crayon in hand. She was scribbling on a huge piece of white cardboard that Tony sat in front of her. Tony was hoping now that Tabitha did not get in bright ideas like get up and draw on the walls. Sitting back on the couch Tony was thinking about what he and Tabitha could do to make the time go by faster. However, everything that Tony came up with he shot down. It was either to boring or he would have to spend money just to do it. He wanted to do something that was not boring or had to deal with spending too much money.

"I can't think of anything." Tony said sighing as he did.

As Tony sat there on the couch a knock on the door. Not wanting to get up Tony yelled for the person to come in. As he watched Tabitha, the person at the door came in and shut the door behind them.

"You know you should always see who is knocking before letting them in." Ziva said getting Tony's attention.

"What are you doing here?" Tony asked.

"I just wanted to make sure that Tabitha was still alive." Ziva said as she knelt down next to Tabitha. "I got you something." Ziva then pulled the teddy bear from behind her back and handed it over to Tabitha whom took it. "I think she likes it."

Tabitha took the bear and hugged it tight. The bear was so soft she did not want to let it go. She then started to rub her face against the bears head.

"How are you doing?" Ziva asked as she stood up. "Have you put the diaper on wrong yet?"

"For you information I had a beautiful woman show me how to do it." Tony said standing up.

"Was it one of the women that gave you their number?" Ziva asked making Tony smirk.

"No actually it was my maid." Tony said with his smirk in place.

"How can you afford a maid?" Ziva asked but the way Tony was smirking she knew that she was not going to get an answer. "Okay like I said before I am just here to see if Tabitha was still alive. I am going to live now."

"Hold on." Tony said as he about to go to the door with her.

However, when he took a step he did not notice that Tabitha was sitting that close. His foot caught on the child making him tumble forward. As he fell, he thought he was going to fall face first on the floor. However, instead of falling on the floor he fell on top of Ziva. As they hit the floor, their lips met. The kiss lasted no longer then a moment before Ziva flipped Tony over and held his arm behind his back.

"Ow Ziva you're going to break my arm." Tony said as Ziva loosened her grip just a tiny bit.

"It was an accident I swear. I tripped on Tabby." Tony said making Ziva look over at Tabitha to see that she was on her side.

"I see you're using her again." Ziva said as Tabitha got up. Ziva was about to let go of Tony when they heard Tabitha giggle. Ziva then turned to see that Tabitha was giggling at them. "I will let this one drop but not next time." Ziva then stood up.

"It's slip you mean I am going to let this one slip." Tony said as he started to nurse his hurt arm.

"Whatever you know what I mean." Ziva then left. After she shut the door she lend up against it. "I thought my heart was going to blow up." Ziva then put her hand on her chest over her heart. It was still pounding out of control.


	4. 4 New Discoveries

**Chapter 4 New Discoveries**

After she had visited Tony and Tabby, Ziva went back to NCIS headquarters to finish her job. Arriving at her desk she then looked over to McGee to see that he was typing away at his computer looking up any accident reports for Aaron Matthew. They had to make sure that the yellow paint on the vehicle was there before or after the recent accident. Sitting down in her chair, she then turned on her computer and got started on what she was to do. As they typed away Gibbs walked in with coffee in hand. He then walked over to his desk. Sitting down he looked over to Ziva then to McGee. Even though he would never say it out loud without Tony there it felt a little empty in the room.

"I found something." McGee said getting Gibbs attention. "The dent in the side of the red 2009 Subaru Forester was reported two months ago. It was a 1998 yellow Honda civic. The claim was reported and it says that Matthew just wasn't paying attention and did not see the Honda coming."

"Well that just means we have to find out why this accident happened." Ziva said right after McGee was done talking.

"I think Abby is checking the Subaru out right now." McGee said.

Gibbs then stood up and headed toward the elevator. Taking the elevator down to where Abby and the vehicle were. After the elevator had stopped he got out and headed toward the vehicle. Right when he got to the side of the vehicle he saw the bottom half of Abby sticking out from beneath the Subaru. Music filled the air as her right foot tapped to the beat of the song. Like usual the music was loud. Gibbs then walked over to the radio and turned it off. After a few moments Abby slide out from under the Subaru.

"Hinky," Abby said as she sat up. She then looked up to see Gibbs standing beside her with Caf-Pow in hand. Gibbs then held out his hand helping her off the floor. As she stood he saw that she was holding a cord.

"What's that?" Gibbs asked even though he just realized what it was after he asked.

"It's the brake line. Look at it. It looks like it was chewed through." Abby said as she held up the brake line. "Besides for the fact that the front end is smashed up beyond repair and the brake line looking like an animal was severely hungry there is nothing else wrong with this vehicle. However the owner was had taken great care of it."

"What about the bullet?" Gibbs asked.

"It's from a .44 Magnum Colt Anaconda." Abby said placing the brake line down on the table.

"Do you know who the gun belongs to, yet." Gibbs said as he followed Abby.

"I haven't gotten that far, yet." Abby said turning to face Gibbs.

**XoX**

Tony sat back on his couch as Tabby played with the bear that Ziva had given her. His head was resting on the back of the couch as he remembered what had happened not too long ago. He was going to walk Ziva to the door when his foot had caught on Tabby and he fell right into Ziva their lips meeting. Even though it was a brief kiss he felt a shock go right through him all the way down to his toes. Putting his arm over his eyes Tony inhaled through his nose and exhaled through his mouth. Even after an hour his heart was still racing. He could still feel her soft lips on his.

"Tony get a hold of yourself." Tony said out loud as his heart finally started to slow down.

Even though his heart was finally beating normally he still felt the sensation of her lips pressed on his. Those soft cherry flavored…. Ziva was wearing cherry flavored chapstick. He had no idea that she wore cherry chapstick. Well he found out something new. Now he knew that saying was true. You find out something new every day. It did not matter how old you were, you always learned something new each and every day.

Tabitha looked up from her teddy to see; who she thought was daddy, was not paying attention to her what so ever. Wanting his attention on her, so she stood up and walked over to where he was sitting. Once right in front of him, she then grabbed his pant leg. Tabitha then gave a slight tug. In turn she got his attention back on her. When he looked down at her Tabitha gave him a big smile.

"What is it Tabby?" Tony said giving a smile back to her.

"Daddy," Tabitha said as she tried her best to climb up onto the couch. "I wanna up, daddy."

Tony did not know what to do. Should he correct her or not. Tabitha just looked so cute when she had called him daddy it made his smile bigger. But if he did not correct her now, then she was going to go on thinking he was her daddy. And when the CPS came to take her away, he knew she was going to cry out for him. Tony just had to make sure not to get too attached to Tabby. He did not want to make the separation even harder than it had to be.

"It's Tony," Tony said as he picked Tabby up and placed her next to him.

"Daddy hungry," Tabby said rubbing her tummy.

"I'm Tony," He said standing up and picking her up.

He then went to the kitchen so he could fix her something to eat. Now he had a question. What was he going to feed Tabitha? What did a two year old eat anyway? While he thought about it his own stomach gave a loud protest. Looking down at his own stomach Tony made up his mind. Putting Tabby down into one of the chairs he then opened the cabinets to see what he could make. Seeing a box of pasta he decided just to make that.

It did not take long for him to boil and strain the pasta. After that he then placed it into a big mixing bowl. Putting some butter into the bowl he then mixed it a little. As he mixed he then added cubed cheese. Stirring the cubed cheese melted and clung to the pasta. After that was done he then grabbed a small bowl for Tabby, and a regular sized bowl for himself. Putting a small amount into Tabby's bowl he then gave himself a bigger proportion. Grabbing two forks he then went and sat down at the table. Placing the small bowl in front of Tabby, Tony noticed that she was too short to reach the table. So he picked her up and placed her on his lap.

"There we go now we can eat." Tony said as he started to feed himself.

As he ate Tony watched as Tabby took her fork in hand and started to eat herself. She was pretty good in handling a fork. Well then again every so often some of the pasta would fall back into the bowl. At least it either went into her mouth or back into the bowl. Tony was kind of happy that she was not getting it everywhere. Smiling to himself he continued eating. After eating the two then went back into the living room. He was about to sit down when his phone start to ring. Placing Tabby on the couch he went and answered the phone.

"DiNozzo residence Tony speaking." Tony said wondering why he answered the phone that way.

"Hey Tony it's me Abby." Came Abby's voice on the other end.

"Hey Abby is there something you need." Tony said looking at Tabby to see that she was cuddling with the teddy bear again.

"I was just wondering how you were doing with the baby. You know I did not get to see her." Abby said disappointment in her voice. "Hey do you think I can see her?"

"Sure I don't see why not." Tony said watching as Tabby actually fell asleep on his couch holding the teddy bear. "Well at the moment she is taking a nap."

"Okay I'll come over later then." Abby said with a sigh. "Oh I wanted to let you know something. Once you hand over Tabitha to the CPS she will not remember anything that happens. It seems a child's memory is weak until the age of four. So anything you do with her until then she will eventually forget."

"Thanks for the info Abby." Tony said not knowing if that was a good thing or not.

"I'll see you later then." Abby said.

"Alright see you later then." Tony then said goodbye and hung up the phone. Now he was wondering if Tabby remembering him or not was good or bad.


	5. 5 Another Cute Stuffed Animal

**A/N I added a little more to Chapter 1 and 4. So you might want to check that out.**

**Chapter 5 Another Cute Stuffed Animal**

Tony sat back down on the couch right next to the sleeping Tabby. He then glanced at her sleeping form wondering what kind of effect it will have on him when the CPS took Tabby away. Well he could just wildly guess but none of his guesses would be right. He would never truly know his reaction until it really happened. Like he could say that when the CPS was able to take Abby away, Tony could say that it probably will not effect at all. But that might not be true at all. Letting out a sigh Tony leaned back into the couch, placing his head on the back of it. He then stretched his legs out in front of him crossing them at the ankles. After that he then stretched his arms placing his hands under his head.

"I might as well take a nap, too." Tony said as he closed his eyes.

However, right when he closed his eyes something heavy sat on his lap. Opening his eyes he saw little Tabby curling up in his lap. She then placed her head on his chest and once again closed her eyes. One of her small hands clutched on to his shirt, while the other rested on her tiny lap. Tabby's strawberry blond curls touched the top of her shoulders. Tony moved a few of the curls behind Tabby's small ear. Her blue dress was replaced by a powder blue shirt, blue jeans, and cute white shocks with white lace on the top of them. Her eye lashes were long and dark creating spiky shadows on her small cheeks. She was just too cute for words. Tony could tell right now she was going to be a heartbreaker when she grew up. Breaking the hearts of many boys. He just hoped she did not get her heart broken.

"Sleep little angel." Tony said placing a hiss atop of the strawberry blond curls.

Leaning his head back once more he then closed his eyes once again. It felt like he had closed his eyes when a sharp pounding sound woke him up. Rubbing his eyes he then looked down to see that Tabby was starting to wake as well. Stretching his arms out Tony looked around the room to see if he had imagined or dreamed the pounding noise. Everything around him seemed to be in order. Nothing had been knocked over. Rubbing his eyes again he wondered what could have made that loud noise. Working his fingers through his hair the pounding noise came back. That was when he noticed that someone was knocking on his door.

"Hold on." Tony said as he picked Tabby off his lap and placed her own the floor. He then walked over to the door. "Who is it?"

"It's me Tony, Abby." Abby said from the other said of the door.

Opening the door he stepped to the side allowing Abby into his home. "What are you doing here, Abby?" Tony asked as he shut the door.

"Well I told you I was going to come over later so I can see that girl you have. And second I tried to call you and you never answered. So I got worried and hurried over here to make sure that you were okay. I am glad you are okay." Abby said giving Tony a hug after she was done with her little rant. "Now where is that little girl?"

"She should be over by the couch." Tony said making Abby turn to the couch.

"What do you mean there is no one by the couch." Abby said as she turned back around to look at Tony.

"Well I was sleeping on the couch when you knocked and I had put her by the couch so I could answer the door." Tony said as he glanced over Abby's shoulder to see that she was telling the truth. Tabby was not by the couch. This made his heart almost stop. If she was not by the couch where was she?

"Do you think she got out while the door was open?" Abby asked making Tony jerk open the door and look out.

"Shoot if she got out there is no telling where she could have gone." Tony said as he was about to go out the door.

"Hold on Tony she's not out there." Abby said grabbing Tony's arm to stop him.

"Then where is she?" Tony asked as he looked at Abby.

"She's right there next to your leg." Abby said pointing down.

Looking down Tony saw that Tabby was indeed standing right next to him. She was looking up at him with her big bright green eyes. It seemed like she was asking him what. Tabby then stretched up her arms.

"Up," Tabby said getting even closer to Tony.

"She is cute." Abby said as Tony picked the girl up. "Hey cutie I am Abby." Abby then reached out to the little girl to see if she would come to her.

"Abby I don't think Tabby wants to go to anyone but me." Tony said as Tabby looked at Abby.

The little girl would look at Abby's face then her hands, then back to her face. This went on for several moments. Abby thought that Tony was right and the little girl did not want anyone else holding her except Tony. This only made since to Abby, since Tony looked so much like the girl's dead father. But that did not make her give up hope that the girl would let her hold and hug her. Several more moments went by before Tabby made up her mind. Tabby's arms then stretched out toward Abby. With that Abby took Tabby out of Tony's arms.

"I guess you're not right about everything." Abby said as she hugged the girl making her giggle.

"Well I can be wrong on some things." Tony said as he walked by Abby to go sit back down on the couch.

"Hey I got an idea." Abby said as she followed Tony into the living room. "Why don't you take Tabby here and take you to an amusement park." Abby suggested as she watched Tony sit down on the couch.

"Don't you think she s a little young for an amusement park, Abby." Tony said as he leaned back.

"No I don't think she is. They have small rides she can go on." Abby said snuggling the little girl once again making her giggle. "Anyway it will give you something to do. So you will not be so bored out of your mind."

"I guess you're right, Abby." Tony said as he rubbed his face with his right hand.

"I know I am right." Abby said as she handed Tabby back to Tony. "I have something to give Tabby."

"Abby she just got something from Ziva." Tony said wondering what Abby was going to give the little girl.

"That does not mean I cannot give her something too." Abby said as she placed the huge bag she was caring on the coffee table. She then reached into it and pulled out a stuffed hippo.

"Hey is that Bert your farting hippo." Tony asked as Abby handed over the stuffed hippo with a spiked collar over to Tabby. She took it right away.

"No Bert is still in my lab." Abby said as Tabby squeezed the hippo in turn making the hippo fart. Tabby made a face at the hippo but squeezed it again. "That one is named Tony."

"You named a plushy farting hippo after me. How nice of you." Tony said as Tabby giggled at the noise the hippo made when she squeezed it.

"You're welcome." Abby said with a big smile on her face. "She is so cute and when she laughs I just want to laugh with her."

"Yeah I guess so." Tony said a smile spreading on his face at hearing Tabby giggle.

"Now I want you to take her to the amusement park and have some fun. You look so bored just sitting here doing nothing." Abby said as she picked the bag back up.

"Have you found out who killed you know who." Tony asked Abby as he stood up holding Tabby on his side.

"Not yet I…" That was when Abby's phone went off. Holding up a finger she then answered the phone. "Yeah I am on my way." She then hung up looking back at Tony. "No I have not found out yet. But when I do I will tell you. I have to go back."

"Bye," Tony said as he walked Abby to the door. "Can you say bye to Abby?" Tony asked Tabby.

"Buh-bye, Abby." Tabby said with a big smile.

"Buh-bye, Tabby." Abby said waving as she waved bye to the girl.


	6. 6 Amusement Park and Drama

**Chapter 6 Amusement Park and Drama**

The park was huge and had several things to do. At first Tony was not going to go at all. But Abby had gone out of her way and found the closest amusement park he could take Tabby to. A lot for adults and children both. Stands for food and drinks lined up. Also along with the food stands there were game stands. The game stands overflowed with prizes that someone could win. Anything from stuffed animals to posters. There was even the blow up hammers. Of course they had to have the strength tester as well.

As Tony walked around Tabby rested her head on his shoulder. Since Tabby was not going to be staying long he didn't think he needed a stroller. However, right now a stroller was starting to sound better and better by the moment. But that would only be a waste of his money. Especially since the girl was not going to be with him long. If he had bought the stroller and the CPS came and got Tabby, Tony would be stuck with a stroller. Anyway Tony actually had no plans on leaving and going anywhere with Tabby that would have involved getting a stroller. But then Abby just had to go and make sure he took Tabby to an amusement park. What was she thinking? Did she think this would actually help? But then again Tony knew Abby was probably just trying to be nice.

"I wonder what we're going to do first." Tony thought out loud as he looked around.

Since they had eaten just moments ago Tony knew it would be awhile before either Tabby or he got hungry again. So that left either playing a game or going on a ride. Well if they were going to go on a ride then he would have to walk over to the kiddy place. The few rides they had where he was standing were made for adults and teens not children like Tabby.

Adjusting the diaper bag, that rested on his other shoulder, Tony walked toward the kiddy part of the amusement park. On that side they had a carousel, little airplanes on metal bars that went up and down in a circle, and other things children could get on. Looking around Tony did not know which one to go to first.

"Which one do you want to ride, Tabby?" Tony asked getting the toddlers attention.

Putting her short little finger on her chin Tabby then looked around. Her nose wrinkled up as she pressed her finger on her chin.

Tony watched as Tabby scrunched up her nose and look around at the few kiddy rides that were in front of them. Her eyes scanned over the rides one at a time. Taking in the sight. After looking at all her options Tabby pointed to the carousel.

"Daddy," Tabby said looking at him and then at the carousel.

"Tony," he automatically said as he walked over to the carousel to stand in line to wait.

They stood in line waiting their turn. While they waited the both of them watched the people already on the carousel. Since the ride had just started they had to wait at least three minutes before it stopped to let the riders off. As he watched Tony made sure to look at everyone around him. Yeah he might not have to do that but working for the NCIS made him very observant of other people. Especially since Tabby's father was shot. Even though the person that shot her father may or may not come after her. Tony was still going to be observant of his surroundings. Make sure that no one was following them or watching them in particular.

There was no telling if the person would come after Tabby. Yeah she was only two and could speak almost perfectly. There was no chance she could pick out who had killed her father. Especially since she thought Tony was her father. And with her age in factor Tabby most likely did not get the concept of death.

As Tony was drifting off into his own thoughts he did not notice that the ride had stopped and the people were already off. And at the moment the people in front of him were getting on the ride. The ones behind him would have tried to go around him but the chains made sure that no one could cut in line.

"Daddy," Tabby said as she gently tugged on his shirt.

Snapping back to the here and now Tony noticed that the people that were in front of him were now getting on the ride. Also the people behind him were starting to glare at him for standing in one spot while the line was moving in front of him.

"Sir you're holding up the line." The man that operated the ride said as he waved Tony forward.

Now walking forward Tony went on to the carousel and walked around to see which horse Tabby would like. Well that did not take long since she reached out for the first pink horse she seen. Grabbing a hold of the bar Tabby tried to keep a hold of the bar, but her grip was feeble and slide right off. But thankfully Tony was paying attention and noticed that she had grabbed onto it. Stepping back to the horse she had picked out, Tony sat her down on it. Keeping one hand on her back he placed the other on the pole. Now all he had to do was wait for the carousel to start.

Holding on to Tabby, Tony once again started to look around the carousel. It did not hurt to be cautious about the people around you. There were a lot of parents with their children and a pair of lovers sitting in one of the carriages. After all the horses and carriages were full the ride started with the operator telling them to keep their hands and feet in the ride at all times. And to make sure to keep a hold of their children at all times while the ride was in motion. As the ride was going Tony looked at the people in the crowd.

Were any of them watching them? Was the person who killed Tabby's father out there somewhere? Now Tony was wondering again if this was such a good idea. There was no telling if the killer wanted the child or not. Or what the killer's reason was to kill Tabby's father in the first place. Was it drugs, money, or something more sinister. There was no telling until they actually caught the murder.

Tabby's giggling once again brought him back to what he was supposed to be doing. Keeping a watchful eye on her until the CPS was able to come and get her. There was no way he was going to allow someone to take her.

Looking down at her Tony say that Tabby's face was lit up. Her smile was huge and showed off her white teeth. It was then that Tony noticed that she had dimples. This only made the toddler even more adorable than before. As he watched her a smile crept across his face. It was only a moment later when the carousel stopped. When it was safe enough to get off, Tony then grabbed a hold of Tabby. Holding her to his side Tony walked right of the ride so others could get on.

"What do you want to get on to next?" Tony asked poking Tabby in her stomach making her giggle. "Do you want to go on that one?" Tony pointed at the one next to the carousel.

There was a mini fire truck, police car, and so on. They were linked together on a track surrounded by a low chain link fence. It looked like the children really liked that ride. Well then again they might just like the noise they could make while riding it.

Not waiting for Tabby to answer Tony walked over to the ride. He then stepped into the line and waited again. Not once dropping his guard. Looking over the crowd Tony made sure to pay attention to the line in front of him. This time when the line moved he was going to make sure to move with it. There was no reason to make this crowd angry at him. Before long Tony was next in line.

Putting Tabby down he then told her to go pick one out. With a toothy smile she raced off toward the fire truck. Sitting in the front she then started to ring the bell. As she rang the bell Tony walked away from the line toward where the exit. Now he was standing there watching Tabby ring the bell happily. Keeping an eye on Tabby and also on the crowd, Tony made sure to be even more cautious. Just then the ride started moving.

"Hey which one is yours?" A feminine voice asked.

Glancing to his right Tony saw a twenty something young woman. Her blonde hair was brushed back into a high ponytail. Her cerulean blue eyes were behind classical wire frame glasses. She wore a plain pink blouse with a pair of black slacks.

"The strawberry blonde on the fire truck," Tony said pointing straight at Tabby. "Which one is yours?"

"None, actually I like to watch parents with their children. My husband and I have been trying for sometime but I was told by the doctor that I could not conceive." The woman said as she looked over at the smiling child. "So where is your wife?"

"I'm single." Tony said taking his eyes off of Tabby. There was no reason to keep looking since she was still on the ride. But he still made sure to glance back every so often.

"Did you get divorced?" The woman said as she ideally stroked the back of her neck with her hand.

"No I was never married." Tony responded.

"You know I am a little hot out here." She then unbuttoned the top three buttons of her blouse. "That feels better." When she had unbuttoned her shirt she gave a generous view of her ample cleavage.

Just for a second Tony glanced down. It was like his eyes had a mind of their own. For goodness sakes she just told him she was a married woman. And here he was almost gawking at the woman's boobs. Well then again he was just a guy after all. And guys would be guys. After gazing at her breast Tony glanced back at the ride. Back and forth his gaze went from her breast to the ride then back. It took a few times for Tony to notice that the ride had stopped and the riders had already gotten off. And new riders were being let on.

Taking a sharp intake of air Tony then started to look around. He did not see the strawberry blonde anywhere. Now he was getting concerned. He even felt like betting himself up for taking his eyes off her. Tony knew it only took a few seconds for someone to kidnap a child. But he let himself be distracted for that amount of time. How could he be so stupid? He should have stayed focused at all times. _How could I let myself be distracted like that? _Tony asked himself as he scanned over the area.

Tony also knew if he did not find Tabby, he was going to have to call Gibbs and tell him about it. That was one call he did not want to make at all. But he knew he had to if he did not find her. Scanning Tony thought he would at least see one cop, but he did not see one.

"Where are they when you really need them?" Tony asked as he flipped open his phone. There was no other choice now. After punching in a number he then waited for the person to answer. "Gibbs, I have a problem."


	7. 7 A Reason and a Clue

**Chapter 7 A Reason and a Clue**

McGee sat behind his desk typing away at his computer. He was looking for anything that would lead a person to kill Gunnery Sergeant Aaron Matthew. So far nothing came of his research. He was right now doing a background check on Aaron. It was then that McGee might have found a motive. But as he read on there was no way the killers could get that.

"I might have found a motive for someone to kill Gunnery Sergeant Aaron Matthew." McGee said as he scrolled down the page using his mouse.

"What is it?" Gibbs asked staring straight at McGee.

"It seems that Aaron Matthew's ancestors set up a saving bound that every generation contributes to." McGee said still looking at the computer screen. "Of course that does not tell us who did this." McGee kept typing until he found another document. "I found something else." McGee then switched it over so Gibbs and Ziva could see.

"That looks like a restraining order." Gibbs said as he got up.

"Yes that's what it is." McGee then stood up. "It seems that Aaron Matthew put a restraining order out for Brice Owens. It seems that the two got into a scuffle over something two months ago. Brice had threatened to call the CPS. It doesn't say why the two men were fighting just that he had threatened to call CPS and punched him."

"Get info on Brice Owens." Gibbs then went back to his seat as did Ziva.

"Right boss," McGee said sitting back at his computer.

McGee then started to type at his computer once again. Doing a background check on Brice Owens, McGee found out that he was married to a woman named Emily Masters. They have been married for a whole year with no children. He also found out that Brice had a younger brother named Rhett Owens. Digging deeper he found out that the two, Brice and Aaron, went to the same school. The two even wanted to join the marines. Well only one of the two got in, Aaron.

Not only did Brice not get into the marines but it seemed that his wife, Emily, could not get pregnant. Once Aaron married Lorelei, after he recovered, she had gotten pregnant right away. It seemed that Aaron out did Brice on everything they did. Archrivals competing against each other on everything. But was that enough to make someone kill another person. Then again people have killed for less.

"It seems that Brice and Aaron have been archrivals since high school. Or even before then. Both of them tried to get into the Marine Corps but of course we know who got in. Aaron married to Lorelei and she got pregnant right away. Brice and his wife, Emily, have been married a year and still have no children. I have also pulled up a hospital record saying that Emily may not be able to have any children." McGee reported reading from the computer.

"Good now get me Brice's address." Gibbs said after McGee was done talking.

"Here you go," McGee said as he wrote down the address and got up and handed it to Gibbs.

"Alright, McGee you stay here and Ziva you come with me." Grabbing his stuff Gibbs was about to leave until his desk phone started to ring. "This is Gibbs." Gibbs answered. "What kind of problem. What do you mean you lost the girl?" Gibbs did not sound very happy. "All you had to do was watch the kid. Alright tell me where you are."

After Tony had told him where he was located Gibbs hung up.

"Change of plans." Gibbs said as he walked around his desk. "McGee, Ziva come with me. We have to go find a missing child." Gibbs then headed toward the elevator with Ziva and McGee behind him.

**….**

Tony had already alerted the amusement park security about the missing toddler. When they had entered the park Tony had saw the photo both. Now he was glad that he had those pictures taken. He had shown then to security and anyone that passed him.

With security well aware of the missing toddler a code Adam was placed on the park. Meaning no one could leave or get in. With security scanning families Tony looked everywhere else and asked if anyone had seen Tabby.

Tony could not help but smack himself upside his head. The mistake he did was a rookie one. Taking his eyes off the person he was supposed to be protecting. Now he wished he had stayed home and not listened to Abby. Yes, staying home was boring since there was nothing to do but watch television. But staying home also meant that Tabby was always in sight and no one had a chance to take her. Well there was only a slight chance she could be taken if they stayed home. But that was only slight compared to when they had left. When they left the house it went up considerably.

"Where is she?" Tony asked himself still looking around for any hint to where Tabby was.

"Tony," Gibbs said coming up from behind him and smacking him upside the head.

"Do you know how hard it is to get in with an Adam alert in effect?" McGee asked walking up next to Gibbs.

"Probably near impossible unless you're a cop." Tony replied looking at McGee.

"And in a few minutes if this Adam alert is not canceled there will be cops here." Gibbs said getting their attention.

"So we need to find Tabitha before they come." Ziva said keeping an eye out.

"Here are some pictures so you can show what she looks like." Tony said handing out the tiny pictures.

"Alright, we might as well go our separate ways. We'll be able to cover more ground that way." Gibbs said grabbing the picture of Tabby and Tony.

**….**

"Now what are we to do?" A blonde female asked as she pushed her glasses up.

"I don't know." The man she was talking to replied. "I was not expecting the security to act so quickly. Or that man either."

"I did my best to distract him. I even unbuttoned my shirt so he can get a sneak peek. I don't see you doing anything worthwhile Brice." The woman said as she flipped her ponytail.

"I talked to Aaron." Brice said trying to keep his voice down.

"Yeah you even killed the man." Another man said holding a certain toddler in his lap.

"I told you, Rhett, it was an accident. I was only threatening to shoot him if he did not cooperate with me." Brice then snuck a peek out the tiny window to make sure no one was coming close to where they were hiding. "It's only a matter of time before they come looking for the little brat. Emily do your stuff and make her over."

"Fine I will." Emily said as she grabbed the huge bag.

First she pulled out a pink dress, white stockings, and black dress shoes. These clothes will replace the ones she had on right now. She had on a white t-shirt with a teddy bear on it, powder pink pants, and white shoes. After changing her clothes, she then pulled out a few more items. Emily then started to brush her hair spraying it so the curls laid flat on the child's head. Once it was smoothed out and pinned up, Emily then put a flesh color cap over her hair. Once the child's hair was covered, Emily made sure that it would not come off. Once that was done she then got a brown wig out. Placing it on the child's head Emily made sure that it looked like the child's real hair and not a wig.

"Wow I still cannot believe how good you are doing this stuff." Rhett said as he looked over the child. "This wig looks like her real hair."

"That's the point dummy." Emily said as she put the stuff away.

"Okay you two all we have to do now is get out of here without anyone seeing us." Brice then finger combed his brown hair. "There is no one looking let's go."

The three of them then walked out of the hiding place. No one had even noticed them leaving their little hiding spot. Rhett was still holding the child in his arms her head on his shoulder. They had used a little bit of chloroform to knock the little brat out. They had made sure not to use too much of it. They did not want to kill the brat.

Emily wanted to raise the child since she could not have children. Yes, she could have adopted a child, but she wanted this one. And they knew it was probably only a matter of time before they find out that Brice killed Aaron. Also with Brice background they might not be able to adopt. He was arrested at eighteen for possession of a controlled substance. Then after that he was arrested for beating up another man while under the influence of alcohol. Not only was he arrested for assault but for underage drinking as well. With that on his record there was no way an adoption agency would give him a child.

"Oh shit that's him let's go this way." Emily said spotting Tony not that far away from where they stood.

Once they were out of his sight Emily sighed in relief. That had been a close one. If the man had seen them she would have to come up with something to say. Since she had told him she did not have children Emily should not have a child at all. But then again she could have said it was Rhett's child. But that was if the dummy would cooperate with them. Knowing him, Rhett would mess it up. So it was best to avoid that situation.

"Now all we have to do is avoid that man." Emily said as she looped her arm with her husband's arm.

"Excuse me have you seen this child?" A woman asked as she stopped them.

"No I am sorry I have not seen the child but I will be on the lookout. When do you think this code Adam will be over? Little Tammy is tiered and we want to get her home soon." Emily said with an innocent smile.

"Sorry, I am not sure how long it will take. Once we find the child I am sure they will announce the code Adam is over." The woman then tucked the picture back into her pocket. "Are you sure you have not seen the child."

"No we're sure we have not seen her." This time Brice answered her. They then walked away from the woman.

As they walked away they did not notice the woman was getting on her cell phone. As she talked on her cell phone she made sure to follow them. Since no one was allowed to leave the park until either the code Adam was lifted or they were searched the woman knew they try a sneaky way out. Or then again since the child did not look like the one they were after they could just walk out the front exit.

"Tony I have them in my sights." Ziva said right after Tony had picked up.


	8. 8 Target Acquired and Suspect Caught

**Chapter 8 Target Acquired and Suspect Caught**

After telling Tony where she was, Ziva hung the cell phone up. She was also making sure to keep an eye on the three people that might have the girl they were looking for. Of course Ziva made sure that she stayed hidden so they did not see that she was following them. The only reason she was following them was one they were hiding and two Tony had described the woman that had distracted him. The woman that at this very moment linked arm to arm with an unknown man.

From what Tony said of his conversation with the woman was that she had a husband. If that was true then the man her arm was linked around must be her husband. But the man holding the child Ziva had no clue who that could be. An accomplice maybe or maybe even a relative.

"Hey," Tony whispered as he came up from behind her.

"They're right there." Ziva whispered pointing toward the three grownups. "Is that the woman you were talking about?"

"Yeah that's the one." Tony responded as they kept enough distance away from the target. "I told Gibbs already and told us just to keep following them."

"How long do we have to follow them?" Ziva asked noticing that Tony was a little fidgety.

"I'm not sure how long he did not tell me that." Tony said only wanting to go up to the person holding the child and take her away.

Looking more closely Tony saw that the child had a different hair color then Tabby. And when the man turned he saw the child had on different clothing as well. Was this the same child they were after? Yeah that was the woman that had distracted him, but had they really taken the girl. If it was how did they change that much of her so quickly.

"Are you sure that is Tabby?" Tony asked as he tried to get a look at the girl's face.

"Yes I am sure that is her. They were hiding and they made a mistake." Ziva said as they turned around a corner.

"What is that?" Tony asked keeping an eye on the targets.

"Well I could faintly see the girl's hairline. Meaning that one of them had tried to hide the girl's true hair color." Ziva pointed out as she took a quick glance at Tony before turning back to look at their targets.

She looked right in time to see them turn another corner. Picking up the pace just a bit the two made it just in time to see the targets try and hide in another building. However, once they got into the door they backed right out of it. After backing away from the door a few feet they then stopped. The woman had a frightened expression on her face, while the two men had a look of surprise.

"Hand the child over." Tony and Ziva both knew who that stern voice belonged to.

"Why would I hand over my child?" The man holding the child asked pulling her closer to himself.

"Yeah it is his child." The woman said trying to sound convincing, but of course it was not fooling anyone.

As Gibbs was talking to them Ziva had enough time to come up from behind and grab and pull of the wig that was on the child's head. Once the wig was removed the flesh colored cap slipped right off showing strawberry blond hair.

"How do you explain this?" Ziva asked getting their attention.

"Well you see….I…that is…" The woman started to choke out the words when she turned to look at Ziva.

"You might as well hand her over." Tony said as he walked over to the other side of the man holding Tabby.

"Fine here take her." The man said shoving the girl into Tony's arms. "I did not want any part of this anyway."

"Well you're a part of it now." The woman said as they were being handcuffed.

**…**

Abby stood in her lab looking at her computer screen as it went through countless fingerprints. There had been a partial print on the bullet that had killed Aaron Matthew. They had tried to get some personal information about that man but they did not find anything of use. He had neither cell phone nor any other electronic device. They even asked around Aaron's workplace about him, but of course all they got was that he was a very private individual. And since all his relatives on both sides were all dead there was no one to take care of his body.

Except for Tabby, but she did not count. You could not expect a two year old to plan a funeral. Especial since she believed Tony was her father. The tiny tot had no clue her real father was gone forever. The girl will probably be taken to an orphanage to be adopted. Well, Abby knew the pretty girl will have no problem being adopted. It was what kind of effect it would have on Tony when the girl was taken away. There was no doubt the girl would be screaming for her daddy when the CPS finally did their job. And of course she would be calling Tony daddy.

As Abby thought about what was going to happen, her beeped as it found a match to the partial fingerprint. Pulling out of her musing Abby then check her computer to see the name of the person who killed Aaron Matthew. BRICE OWENS was the name that showed up along with a photo of the man.

"It seems that Aaron's rival killed him." Abby said just as she was handed a Caf-Pow.

"What else does it say?" Gibbs asked as Abby sat her Caf-Pow down.

"Let's see he was arrested for carrying a controlled substance. Then another time for beating up another man while intoxicated." Abby responded as she read from the man's profile.

**…**

Gibbs now sat in the interrogation room with Brice Owens sitting in front of him. And right now the man was a little nervous and fidgety. His right hand on the table kept clenching and unclenching while the other hand was tapping to an unheard beat.

"Why don't you get this over with." Brice said still tapping his finger away. "I have been sitting here for over an hour now."

Gibbs just sat there with a straight face looking at papers in a manila folder. The pages were of Brice and Aaron's rivalry, an autopsy report, pictures of Aaron's dead prone body, and the result of the fingerprint that was found on the bullet that had killed Aaron. Slowly but surely Gibbs put down a picture of Aaron Matthew. Once it was on the table Brice looked down at it. However, right after his eyes looked on to the picture he turned his head away.

"I had not meant to kill the fool." Brice said hoping that Gibbs would take the photo away.

"But you shot him in front of his own child." Gibbs finally said.

"I told you I did not mean to kill him." Brice said trying to his anger from showing. "I was talking to him about his daughter but the fool would not listen to me."

"What did the two of you talk about?" Gibbs asked as he took the photo of Aaron away and back into the manila folder.

"Well I told him his little girl needed a mother figure in her life." Brice said sitting back into his chair as he recalled their conversation. "I suggested he let Emily and me raise the child, but of course he plain out told me no. He also told me that he could raise the child on his own with no problem."

"And that made you shoot him." Gibbs pressed on.

"I took the gun out and threatened him a little. I put my finger on the trigger and told him if he did not agree I was going to shot him." Brice crossed his arms over his chest as he remembered that event. "He was not scared of the gun but he told me to put it away. He did not want me to accidently shot his daughter. We argued a bit more and I got angry. I accidently squeezed my hand in anger and it went off shooting Aaron. After he was shot I tried to get control of the vehicle but that did not work and I wrecked it into a tree. Right after that I got out hurt but okay. I was going to take Tabitha with me then call the police but someone had already called them because I heard the sirens. So I did what came to my mind first and I ran away."

Gibbs then stood up and started to walk toward the door. They had enough to convict Brice for murder and kidnapping charges. Now all they had to worry about was to take care of Tabitha until CPS showed up.


	9. 9 Saying GoodBye Is Never Easy

**Chapter 9 Saying Good-Bye Is Never Easy**

Tony and Ziva were sitting in a hospital's waiting room waiting for the doctor to return. Right after getting Tabby back Tony had taken her directly to the hospital to make sure that she was okay. Tony had insisted on having a doctor check Tabitha over. It was better safe than sorry.

As Tony waited for what seemed an eternity before he stood back up and started to pace once more. Being able to move helped Tony even if it was just a little bit. He had no idea why he was so worried but he was. Even though he only known the child for a short period of time it felt like she had grown on him. Like some kind of vine that clung to a sturdy structure so it could grow.

"I'm sure she is okay, Tony." Ziva said as she watched him walk back and forth.

Of course he knew that, but what was bothering him the most was this persistent nagging in the back of his mind. There was something wrong, but he just could not figure out what it was exactly. That truly bothered him when he felt like something was wrong but had no idea what it was.

"I believe she is fine." Tony responded as he sat back down and leaned his head against the wall behind the chair.

Ziva only let out a small sigh as she too sat back to wait. Right after they had got the girl back Tony had tried to wake the girl up, but all his attempts failed. So he told Gibbs that he was taking Tabitha to the hospital to make sure that she was okay. When Tony stared to walk away Ziva was about to follow when Gibbs told her to do what she was already about to do. That was to follow Tony. Right when she had caught up with Tony, he turned around and told her to drive. It was then that Ziva knew how attached Tony had become to the girl. In any other situation Tony would have done anything within his power to keep the keys away from her hand.

"Are you the guardian of Tabitha Matthew?" A doctor asked coming into the waiting room.

"Yes that is me." Tony said as he stood up and walked over to the doctor. "How is she?"

"She is fine I can assure you. We ran several test and nothing came up wrong." The doctor said as he flipped some of the papers on his chart. "In fact she is awake crying for her daddy right now. So if you…" Right before the doctor could even finish his sentence Tony walked away.

Not even a few seconds later Tony came back into the waiting room where the doctor still stood. The doctor was not standing too far away from the door with Ziva standing right next to him.

"I believe you might need me to find out where we put the girl." The doctor said with a duh look on his light brown face.

"Yeah it kind of would help if I let you lead the way." Tony said stepping to the side so the doctor could go first.

The doctor then nodded in agreement before he started to walk. Ziva was right behind the doctor and Tony trailed after her. As they were walking toward where Tabitha was, Tony could not help but to let out a sigh of relief. Yeah he knew she was going to be okay, it was just hearing it from a doctor that set is mind at ease. But still what Tony did not understand was how he became so attached to the girl in such a short time.

This was not like him at all. It was one thing for the child to attach to him since he looked like her father, but it was another for him to get attached to her. He had already made that mistake before. And of course he had thought he had learned his lesson, but it seemed that not to be true. Yes the feelings he had for Jeanne and now Tabitha were two different kinds of love, Tony still should have known better. But it was just too hard not to fall for the tiny toddler. Her smile could brighten anyone's day and that is not mentioning her laughter. It was her laughter that could make someone's whole week even better. Well that was how Tony felt about it any way.

"Here we are." The doctor said snapping Tony out of his thought and into the here and now.

Once he was in the here and now Tony could hear the whimpering of a child. No, that was not any child that was Tabitha crying out for him. And it was not whimpering Tabitha was doing, she was having a full out crying fit. Tabitha was probably screaming from the top of her lungs, but Tony did not notice until the doctor had snapped him out of his thoughts.

"Tabby, I am here now." Tony said as we walked past the doctor and into the room.

"Daddy," Tabitha cried out holding up her arms for him to pick her up.

Scooping her up into his arms Tony brought her close to his chest. He knew he should have corrected her, but he just could not bring himself to do it at that moment. He was just relived that she was really okay. The little girl had been though a lot in such a short amount of time. First she was in a wreck and then put to sleep with chloroform.

As Tony held her close he petted her head. After a moment he then started to rub her back to sooth her. It only took a few moments of rubbing Tabitha started to calm down. Her wail became a soft whimper. Pretty soon after that the whimpering ceased all together.

Once she was done crying Tony then placed he under her chin and tilted it toward him. Once her big green eyes were on him he then started to wipe her cheeks. Once her cheeks were dry Tabitha was then free to lay her head on Tony's shoulder. She then snuggled her face up close to his neck. Rubbing her face against his neck Tabitha then closed her eyes and let out a relieved sigh.

"I wub you daddy," Tabitha said as she put one of her tiny hands on one of Tony's shoulders.

Once again he should correct her, but Tony found out that he was unable to say it. The way Tabitha had said it actually touched his heart in a way that Tony never foresaw coming. It was then Tony knew that when the CPS came to take Tabitha away he was going to have a hard time letting her go.

Holding onto to her tight Tony then whispered something into her ear. The reason he whispered it was because he did not want anyone to hear what he had said. Tony also did not want Ziva knowing that he had become attached to the child. Once again he started to pet her head while he reassured her that was fine and that was with her. Of course this was not going to last long and Tony knew that.

**XOX**

Tony was now sitting behind his desk with Tabitha next to him on the floor. Tabitha was playing with the stuffed bear and hippo that she had received yesterday. Last night Tony thought he was going to have trouble getting Tabitha to go to sleep, but he was proven wrong. Right after giving her a bath with lavender Tony had gotten them both ready for bed. Once in bed Tony told Tabitha it was time to go to sleep. And just like that just cuddled up next to him and slowly fell asleep.

The reason they were there at the Navy Yard at Tony's desk was because they had received a call from CPS telling them that they were going to show up at the Navy Yard to pick up Tabitha at noon. Right now it was quarter till giving Tony only fifteen minutes with Tabitha.

Looking down at the toddler Tony tried to get himself ready to say good-bye. But he seemed to be having troubles with that. Every time he looked at her, he seemed to choke on the words. At the moment Tony was glad that it was just Tabitha and him in the room. Rubbing the top of Tabitha's head Tony held back his tears.

Sitting back in his chair all Tony could do right now was wait for the CPS to show up. Right after they had left this morning to come to the Navy Yard Tony had went to the store and bought Tabitha a locket to keep their photo in so she will never forget about him. Yeah he knew that sounded selfish but he just could not help it. He did not want Tabitha to forget about him. Even though that could go in two ways.

One, when Tabitha got older she might try and look for him to thank him for helping her out. The second was she could see it as that he had abandoned her without trying everything within his ability to keep her. But Tony knew he would never be able to keep her. For one he was single and there was no way he would be able to adopt a child like that.

Rubbing his temples Tony then looked at the time again. Just another three minutes to go. Looking down again Tony saw that everything was ready to go. So he stood up and picked Tabitha off the floor. Scooping her up into his arms Tony held her tight for the last time. As he held her Tony could actually feel his heart breaking. Placing a few kisses on the top of her head Tony then moved Tabitha so she was on his side. He then picked up the two stuffed animals she had been playing with and placed them on his desk. Once they were on his desk he did the same thing with the diaper bag.

Pulling Tabitha back in front of him Tony then started to hug her again. This would most likely be the last time they see each other so Tony was going to make sure that Tabitha understood.

"Tabby I need you to listen to me. I know you might not understand this but I have to say…" Tony stopped when Tabitha looked at him with her big cute green eyes. "I have to give you to some people that will take care of you since I am not your real father." Tony started to smooth out Tabitha's clothes. "I do love you Tabby but I have to tell you good-bye. Maybe we might meet in the future."

"I wub you daddy." Tabitha said just making it harder on Tony.

"I love you too." Tony said as he moved a few strands of curly strawberry hair behind her tiny ear. "I will miss you." Tony then placed a kiss upon her forehead. "Are you going to give me a kiss?"

After he asked Tabitha kissed him on his cheek. Holding back his tears Tony held onto Tabitha. Right as CPS was coming in Ziva, McGee, and Gibbs came into the room. They had come in to tell Tabitha good-bye. Once they were done Tony was about to hand Tabitha over until her heard Abby come running in yelling at him to wait.

"I wanted to say good-bye too." Abby said as she stopped right beside Tony and Tabitha. "Good-bye Tabby. I hope you live your life to the fullest and I also hope you do not let anyone tell you what you can or cannot do." Abby said patting Tabitha on the head.

"Good-bye," Tony was able to get out right after Abby stepped away.

Giving Tabitha one last kiss on the head he then handed the girl over to the CPS personal. Once she was in their hands Tony went to sit at his desk. Once he was in his chair Tony leaned his arms against the table and placed his forehead on his folded hands.

"Daddy," Tabitha cried out just as she realized that she was being taken from her daddy.

As they were getting onto the elevator they could still hear Tabitha screaming for her daddy to come to her. But they knew Tony was unable to do that. Yeah he could get up and run after them, but that was just futile since he would not be able to keep her. So Tony sat at his desk his head down so no one could see his face. Tony did not want the others to see that he was about to actually cry.

After a few moments Tabitha's voice could no longer be heard. It was not long after that that Tony got up and walked away from the others. Yes, he knew they were watching him even though he did not even bother picking his head up. He could feel their gazes on him as he left the room. With no explanation on where he was going Tony went to the door that led to the stairs and left.

**END**

**A/N I know I left it on a sad note but that is how I wanted it. Now I really want to make a sequel but I am having troubles with it. If anyone can give me some suggestions please send me a message. Any suggestions will be welcomed. I want to get Tony and Ziva together but how to do that I am not sure. So any help will be welcomed. Also thank you for reading this story even though it was not that long. THANK YOU **


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